After battling for years over storage patents, EMC and Hewlett Packard have agreed to settle the matter out of court. The companies last week filed a joint motion to hold a private arbitration to resolve the dispute, an EMC spokeswoman confirmed.

HP, which acquired the patents and legal baggage when it acquired StorageApps in 2001, was found to have infringed EMC's IP by a federal jury in 2004. A damages hearing was set to take place on Feb. 16 but will now be avoided.

The squabble with EMC forced HP into a tough spot. It was barred from selling the CASA (Continues Access Storage Appliance) product that used StorageApps technology. Rumors have recently circulated that HP has teamed with Falconstor to develop a CASA replacement.

The arbitration clearly saves on legal costs for both companies and puts this long-running matter behind them. ®

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